HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Well-intentioned marketers are at risk of inadvertently converting
potential customers into ‘brand blockers’ as a result of irritating
online behaviour. This is the key finding of new global research into
the effectiveness of social media marketing commissioned by Pitney
Bowes Software, a global leader in customer data, analytics,
communication software and services.

The independent study, conducted by Vanson Bourne, compares social media
marketing trends among marketing directors with consumer attitudes to
marketing via social media across Australia, France, Germany, the UK and
the USA.

The survey reveals that when it comes to external communications, nearly
70% of marketing directors are placing a greater emphasis on social
media now than ever before, claiming that one-quarter of their marketing
budgets will be allocated to social media activity in 2013.

However, marketers' enthusiasm for using social media is not matched by
consumers’ views of social media marketing. Only a quarter use social
media to follow and keep up-to-date with certain companies or brands
(26%), while most are predominantly on social media to keep in touch
with friends and family (78%).

In this context, ‘followed’ brands fare relatively well. Nearly half of
social media users (48%) are positive towards receiving their marketing
messages. The reverse is true of communications from companies people
don’t follow, which 40% say they would be annoyed to receive. What is
more, consumers rate unsolicited marketing (‘spam’) and pop-up
advertisements as their worst experiences of social media marketing.

Perhaps most worryingly, 65% of consumers surveyed say that they would
stop using a brand that upset or irritated them as a result of their
social media behaviour.

In contrast, recommendations from online friends hold more sway: 68%
said that they investigated these or even made a purchase (15%).

Companies out of touch

When it comes to interacting with brands, the research shows consumers
are most interested in discount or money-saving vouchers, new products
and services, and upcoming sales and events. Yet these are bottom of the
list for marketers, mentioned by fewer than one in ten of those
surveyed. Instead, marketing decision-makers highly rate the
effectiveness of newsletters, information about the organisation’s
social responsibility and customer satisfaction surveys, all of which
were least interesting to consumers.

While consumers and marketers were aligned in their emphasis on Facebook
as the most popular and trusted social media site, they disagreed about
the importance of other social media outlets. Beyond Facebook, marketers
devote most of their remaining spend on Twitter (57%) and Google+ (51%).
By contrast, consumers prefer YouTube – rated only fifth by marketers –
over Twitter and Google+.

“This research is fascinating because it reveals a clear disconnect
between the effort marketers are putting into social media and the
desire among consumers to engage,” says Kieran Kilmartin, Marketing
Director, EMEA & India, Pitney Bowes Software. "Even well-intentioned
marketers that persist with old-school 'broadcast' marketing models risk
inadvertently turning potential brand ambassadors off, or at worst,
triggering them to disengage completely and ultimately become a ‘brand
blocker’."

Further UK statistics:

UK companies will devote the highest proportion of marketing spend on
social media next year, allocating close to half of marketing budgets
(47%) to social media in 2013

There are marked gaps in marketers’ ability to quantify the impact of
their social media initiatives. Two-thirds (66%) see their campaigns
as effective but only one-third (33%) are confident that they can
establish a link between social media spend and profitability. The UK
is the most confident market, with as many as 80% saying their
campaigns are effective and 62% claiming that they can establish an
impact on profitability.

At 78%, the UK was among the most confident regions surveyed in their
view that consumers are positive toward social media marketing, only
exceeded by France (92%).

However, the UK also has the biggest disconnect in terms of social
media tactics: UK marketers have the greatest confidence in customer
satisfaction surveys (70%), matched by the lowest consumer interest in
such communications (10%) globally.

While globally, only one-third (33%) overall are confident that they
can establish a link between social media spend and profitability, 62%
in the UK say they are very well informed of the impact social media
activity has on profitability.

In August and September 2012, Vanson Bourne conducted online interviews
with 300 senior marketing decision-makers working in
business-to-consumer organisations across five international markets
(UK, France, Germany, Australia, USA) and seven economic sectors
(Retail, Insurance, Retail Banking, Utilities, Telecoms, FMCG and the
Public Sector).

The questionnaire focused on their use of social media as a marketing
channel, including aspects such as marketing spend, channels used,
social media tactics used, measurement and challenges associated with
social media marketing.

At the same time, 3,000 adult consumers in the same regions, who use
either use or have previously used social media, were interviewed online
to explore corresponding areas of interest, such as which social media
they are using, what they are using them for, along with their response
to receiving marketing messages and providing personal information.